Poll ~ What is the average Age of a Pagoda Owner?

[gimp]

Dieter

That would be quite the trip.
I am routing for it to come true.

Frank

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Hi Achim,

Everything seams to be more expensive in Canada. This, however, may change now that the new president will be screwing up the Free Trade agreement with Canada. Some agreement it is anyway, I purchased three oil filters and a vacuum line valve from Bud's Benz. The entire order was not even $30- US, they had to add shipping for another $23- US and when the order arrived at my door UPS presented me with another $28- Canadian this time in duty/broker charges. I will be purchasing from Germany in the future unless I pick them up in the US when I am down that way.

Dieter

[badali]

I bought mine at age 43...  I am 51 now.  I bought a 1961 220Sb at age 22 and that was the beginning of my obsession.  I have had one MB or more since then.

[Mike Hughes]

The way I look at it, in the end it really doesn't matter much how young or old you are when you drive a Pagoda - the car's timelessness envelopes its occupants and it keeps them young!  The original owner of my Pagoda was 62 when he acquired it and didn't pass it along to a new custodian until he was 85.  I tried to buy it from him when I was 36 but a friend with a faster draw beat me to it and finally passed it on to me just as I was going to celebrate the big five-oh.  That was 14 years ago and each time I slide behind the wheel the car lets me know there's still plenty more time to drive it 'till the road wears out!

[wjsvb ✝︎]

In response to Dieter's comment about shipping: I never use UPS for shipping outside the US.  They charge customs brokerage which is guaranteed to annoy the recipient.  Use/demand USPS! You may still pay customs, though.  Jon

[mario]

41 when I bought mine.  Now I'm 43.  I have gone up in age 2 years, and my bank account has declined after the restoration. 

[simonarn]

I noticed despite which year we all bought our Pagodas, we all seem to derive from the same vintage.
I did notice however that my choice of music in my 280 is dating back to the time of production and not my age!

[sandcrab59]

Presently 77 soon to be 78 in 7 weeks.
Purchased my 280SL in 2004 and as of yet it is not on the road.
IN 2005 I  purchased a 250SL as a parts car and maybe I will restore it.
My major problem is no heat in the garage in the winter, if not for that it would be on the road years ago.
All I have to do is patch one small hole in the floor (280SL) and put back the dashboard and clean it up.
Why the dashboard was taken apart was for 2 reasons.
1- redo the heater core.
2- took apart the fuses and the wires and made a scketch for each fuse.
Each fuse is on its own page which shows the colors and where it goes in the chasis .
That was a chore.
Now I have to  put it all back.

Peter has seen my property from a satellite ( while I was at his house in 2013) and OZ has visited my house and they both stated good place for a PUB.
I am 1 hour west of Boston and have almost 5 acres of lawn.
It surrounds my house on 2 sides.
Since Tom S is utilizing his farm in VA for PUB 17, maybe PUB 19 could be near Boston.
BUT JOE has Priority, he mentioned  to me the other day that he might have another PUB in the future.

[Benz Dr.]

In response to Dieter's comment about shipping: I never use UPS for shipping outside the US.  They charge customs brokerage which is guaranteed to annoy the recipient.  Use/demand USPS! You may still pay customs, though.  Jon

Both Canada and the US have an agreement not to charge duty on anything shipped by mail. Because there is no duty, there may not be any brokerage.

UPS has their own brokers so of course you pay for that, and if your shipper uses freight collect, you'll really pay. Ideally, you should pay for everything up front which is always cheaper.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Thanks Jon and Dan, I will take note of that.

Dieter

[guyke]

i am looking almoast 10 jear after a pagoda that i could pay and that is not to rusty , now im 38 and finaly found one in the usa , i hope to keep it for a long time

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Guyke,

We hope you voted and welcome to the Group!

Dieter

[silver surfer]

I am 49 but have owned my car for about 17 years.
I have been into classics most of my life and just fell in love with the cool styling and the engineering attention to detail. I still feel the same way today. These cars are amongst the most beautiful cars ever made!

 

[MikeL43]

I bought my first Pagoda (68 280 SL) at age 34.  At the time I also owned a 66 250 SE Coupe that I purchased when I was 28.  My current Pagoda (67 250 SL) was purchased when I was 70 and I am now 73 (egad).  Every once in a while I think I should sell it as I usually only drive it once a week or so and garage space is at a premium but once I get in the car and take off I realize how really great the car is and how much more of an interactive driving experience it is than my E 550.  Guess I'll just hang on to it and let my son decide what to do with it.

[Benz Dr.]

I bought my car on Dec. 13th, 1993 as a birthday present to myself. Too cold to take it out today and now the license has run out. Finally was able to get it out of the barn a couple of weeks ago and take it for a long drive to see the grand kids.

Too many cars in the shop all summer so no place to store it while I was working on other things.

[racefaith]

I turned 46 last week but bought my car when I was 36....
-Chris

[swood1]

What if your over 80?  Not that I am 

[mazmonza]

I bought my car in1978 when I was 32 for £2,400, that means I have owned it for 38 years, that means i'm !!! Ouch  ( Fantastic )

[Jowe]

I also bought my Pagoda as an anniversary birthday gift to myself. Who knows which of us will last over the other one?! I had a desire of a roadster of the same age as myself, just being that keen. The choice of the Pagoda was quite easy for me; British ones as the E-type and the MGB fell out by durability reasons, not to mention the Lucas electrical system (Lucas, the guy who invented the darkness IMO). Corvette C2 is “too much” for me. However, the Mustang Convertible was an option design-wise (definitely my children’s’ choice) but too conventional in mechanics. Fiat and Alfa-Romeo’s – too limited market, and the durability drawbacks. Ferraris and Maseratis – too much money. Porsche 356 roadster – not safe enough, and too pricy. Left was the best of the best of 1964, a 230SL! However, it was hard to find a decent car that had “came out of the factory” at the same time as me, in July! But I may say that the “order” of both were placed at the same time! 

[UJJ]

I was born and grew up in Duesseldorf, Germany.

My first car was a run down 190 D Fin tail when I was going to college. That was all I could afford then, I think I got it for DM 300.00. That was 1974! It was a beater, but it got me where I needed to go.

Then I turned into a Hippie and Racer and of course I needed to have a VW Bus, which I shared with friends who contributed with the expenses.

My first real project was a 190 SL, pretty bad shape for DM 400.00 and I restored it, took about 3 years, however, I sold it for DM 18,000.00 because I needed the money to feed my racing obsession. That was quite dumb, considering what that car is worth today.

In 1985 I moved to the US to run the Engineering Dept. of a German company in CT. That was a 4 year assignment, look what happed, I’m still here. Of course I needed a new toy and I found a W108 280 SE 4.5 which I also restored. That was 1989.

Then after my wife passed, I needed something to do to keep my mind occupied with different thoughts and I purchased my Pagoda. It was drivable and I decided to work on it only during the winter season. That worked quite well this way and made me enjoying the car, instead of restoring it in one shot.

2 years ago I gifted the 280 SE to my daughter and it went back to Germany. What a big smile I got, she loves it a lot.


Regards, Urban

[rbradley]

I bought my 71 when I was 50 in 2001. As I already had twelve cars on the road ( never seemed
able to sell one) I decided it would be a gift for my wife. Since then I never did get around to telling
her it was hers. Oh well she told me last year that she bought a horse eight years ago and never
told me either. So much for honestly in marriage I guess. We both continue to enjoy our secret
pleasures although I think mine has more of a long term future.

[Peter van Es]

Where did she hide the horse? I'm interested just in case my wife buys another horse without telling me either...

I can imagine you hiding your car amongst the other ones.

Peter

[TheEngineer]

Help! I can not reply because I am over 80! This year I shall be 85 - God willing and the creek don't flood. I bought the present 1969 280SL for my 72nd birthday and have been working on it ever since. Now it runs like it should. It is difficult to really wind it out because the highest speed limit in this State is 70 MPH. There is a 3 lane highway up to Snoqualmie pass and on the steeper stretches I can do 80 with power to spare. Really need a dynomometer to tell. Back in the 60th I had a blue 230SL and later a 220SE. Never trusted a shop - always did my own work. Attached is a pic when I removed the engine to do some work. Must have done things right, for a week now there are no leaks at all! Knock-on-wood.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Help! I can not reply because I am over 80! This year I shall be 85 - God willing and the creek don't flood.

TheEngineer,

I added two options so please add your vote.

I must tip my hat to you you did some fine work on your engine, those are great photos! The photos show how carefully you planned the steps to remove the engine. Nice to see that your efforts were successful in stopping that nasty leak. I bet you have been in the Mechanical Engineering field and in your early years have most likely received good hands on training. I've been actively employed in the Mechanical Engineering field since 1961 and 22 years of that in my own business.

This gives me an idea, we should have a thread here of Members that are now retired and what we have done during our working life. I understand we have quite a number of retired Engineers and other interesting professions in our Group.

Meanwhile, I wish you good health and advance Good Wishes for your 85th Birthday, I've always enjoyed reading your posts and hope to read them for many years to come. I shall celebrate my 80st Birthday, God willing this year in September.

Best,

Dieter

PS. Unfortunately I could not add the two date ranges on top of the listing ... then nothing wrong in having them on the bottom

[Cees Klumper]

This gives me an idea, we should have a thread here of Members that are now retired and what we have done during our working life. I understand we have quite a number of retired Engineers and other interesting professions in our Group.

http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=3825.0